Pretty special to get little messages like this one from one of our students from our class over the weekend – even more fabulous to get a photo of the proud home of her 'masterpiece' on the mantlepiece !

“Hi Aneta, my mum and I attended your class on the 2nd. I framed my ‘masterpiece’ I loved it so much! 👌’....

She then left the following as a review 😍 “I loved this class! If you've ever considered exploring your creativity - this is a safe and encouraging place to give it a go. Guided activities help to learn but the freedom is there to find your style. Not to mention the champers and a good laugh 🙌 Highly recommended.” Bonnie

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We're thrilled to be part of the upcoming 'ECU School of Business and Law' Professional Team Day ... Can't wait to get everyone's creative juices flowing and to take them on a journey of 'Different Perspectives'!

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So much fun taking Sarah from Eskay Design Interiors and her colleagues through a journey of Charcoal and Champagne ‘creative challenges’ as part of their recent Christmas celebrations ... even more fabulous, was to have this become a collaboration with one of their suppliers, Scandinavian Wallpaper Decor who hosted this event in their gorgeous venue ! photos

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You may have not thought that drawing a life model is good for you, but research now shows, life-drawing has a positive imact on negative body image in adults and most recently in teens.

(above) 'Creative Thinking Workshop' for year 10 Business Studies class at Penrhos College

Over the years as I've watched nervous 'beginners' rock up to my 'Charcoal and Champagne' life-drawing classes for adults, as well as my 'Creative Thinking Workshops' which I run for businesses and schools.

In even the short amount of time we spend together, Im endlessly amazed at the remarkable changes in not just how individuals feel about their 'ability to draw' and their 'creative ability', but also their mind set about how they view the body – and so it comes no surprise to see the following findings by Professor Viren Swami, from Anglia Ruskin University:

“Previous studies with adults have shown that life drawing has a positive effect on body image, with evidence coming from cross-sectional, experimental and prospective studies in multiple university and community samples.

“It’s encouraging to see the same may be the case for adolescents as well.

“Negative body image is a real public health concern in young people, particularly because of its association with disordered eating and poorer psychological well-being.

“Our findings are important because they point at an effective means of promoting healthier body image in this age group.

“Regular life drawing classes have the potential not only to promote a more positive body image, but also to develop more realistic notions of what bodies look like.”

For girls, life drawing challenged the idea that the perfect body was thin, he said. Boys no longer assumed that they had to be muscular to be attractive.

Participants also became more respectful of other people’s appearance, the study showed.

“They were less judgmental about other people they might meet, or how they treat their bodies, what they do with their bodies, or how they clothe their bodies,” said Prof Swami.

Previous research had shown that around half of young girls and 35% of boys were dissatisfied with their bodies, the professor added.

The three aspects of body image improved by life drawing were appreciation, acceptance and pride. These related to respecting, feeling good about, and taking care of your body.

If you are interested in finding out about incorporating a coached life-drawing workshop into your school, community or wellness program please get in touch with Aneta.

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So this happen over the weekend ! ... who would have thought we could get such amazing weather this time of year – perfect for our spontaneous decision to set up outside and make it a 'plein air' 'Charcoal and Champagne' life drawing session in the hills for the ladies of Jigsaw 🥂👩‍🎨

Every so often we get to run workshops for some extra special individuals and organisations.

We feel privileged to have been invited to run a workshop working with a group of women through Jigsaw, an amazing organisation which provides information, counselling, and intermediary services to people separated from family for many different reasons .. so looking forward to meeting the ladies!

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A NASA study shows how 98% of us go from being a 'creative genius' at 5 years of age ... 30% at 10yo ... 12% at 15yo and only 2% as adults!

Nourishing 'Creative Thinking' is not just a nice concept, it is crucial for us as a species to problem-solve and innovate towards a better future ... Dr. George Land illustrates this and where we go wrong with 'divergent vs convergent thinking' beautifully .. and yes 'fear' doesn't help either.

Good news is ... you can actually "turn your 5 year old self back on".

With Valentine's just around the corner ... we have the perfect gift to help you make a lasting impression!

With 12 months to use the vouchers, you are bound to find a class that suits you both – and before you know it, you'll take on life-drawing (yes with a nude model), with charcoal in one hand and French bubbly in the other! ... The PERFECT date !

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There is nothing more motivating for me, then hearing how people's creative journey continues beyond their 'Charcoal and Champagne' experience... the only thing to top it is knowing the classes actually taught them something or reawoke a spark in them to explore their creative side.

Here's a snippet from a heart warming email I got from Eve this week ... she join us at the November 'Big Drawing Workshop' last year after coming along to a 'Charcoal and Champagne' pop up on her own – thank you Eve for sharing! x

"I just wanted to say thank you for my experiences at your classes you are a great teacher and you really inspired me to get back into my drawing and try a few new things. Since the classes I have got myself an easel and some charcoal and have started doing more and more drawing (mainly of my pets so far)."Eve Perry

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A little peek at some of the bendy Charcoal-Challenge shenanigans with a few of the Wesley College teachers as part of their end-of-year wellness day!

Some absolutely brilliant 'masterpieces' and no shortage of humour as everyone took on the fun of stepping outside of their comfort zones celebrating the end of the school year & beginning of some well deserved holidays.

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Communication is essential for bonding within relationships and it certainly doesn’t have to be verbal.

As featured in an article by Connect Hearing on ways to communicate without talking, Charcoal and Champagne life-drawing classes are happy to offer a unique opportunity for couples to bond and reconnect, via art. We run guided, pop-up life drawing classes and events, which are unisex and suitable for all levels of experience. All drawing materials are included, as well as a glass of French bubbly, cheeses and nibbles.

Creative Director, Aneta Wnek, loves to engage in the arts community and help people connect with the senses. Life drawing classes allow you to challenge how you see things, engage your senses in different ways and share an experience together that’s both creative and expressive. Art lets you step outside of your comfort zone and try something new, while working with your hands, observing and interpreting, as a way of non-verbal communication.

As a couple, you’ll learn to appreciate the human form from a fresh perspective, while supporting and engaging with each other during the process. By literally getting your hands dirty drawing and smudging charcoal with your fingers and seeing what you're capable of producing, communication becomes all about feeling and without the need for talking.

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PERTH ! If you've attended a pop-up Charcoal and Champagne life-drawing session before, you know our classes are fun and full of brain bending challenges in a non-competitive, but supportive environment with other eager-to-learn (and have fun) 'budding artists'.

Now, we've created a very special event for those of you who might still consider yourselves beginners, but are ready to learn MORE and CHALLENGE yourself further. Our full-day, large-scale 'Charcoal and Champagne' Drawing Workshop is the opportunity for you to now start exploring the 'how to' side of drawing ... and develop further skills and techniques to help you bring your 'hidden talents' to the surface and get your 'creative-thinking' brain buzzing!

You will also be given the opportunity to work on a 'BIG SCALE' - yes with large scale easels like a real 'master' in a studio setting.

The class will be broken up into 2 sections - the morning session where you will work with our first model, learning new skills and techniques – and the afternoon session, where you will start applying some of these new skills whilst drawing a life-model on a large-scale easel with charcoal.

For more info and tickets visit : http://bit.ly/charcoal_19NOVworkshop

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Here's a little insight into why they might be ...

Charcoal and Champagne life-drawing classes are specifically designed to be social and cater for those very individuals who are nervous about drawing or being creative and who might ‘believe' the ‘stickman’ is the limit of their ability.

Despite this, the classes also work on the ‘personal challenge’ level for people who might have more experience 'being creative', and might like to have a bit of fun pushing themselves out of their comfort zone – yes even artists & creatives have comfort zones.

Ultimately, it really doesn’t matter who you are and what you think you can achieve creatively – you will simply be challenged in a non-competitive & safe space, to just 'do your best' and take the challenges presented to you by me, Aneta, your personal creativity coach, as inspiration to interpret in your own, unique way.

There is NO right or wrong in the class.

Technique is NOT a focus in the class.

Rather, it is a class designed to inspire the personal development of each individuals’ creativity, irrelevant to everyone else in the class.

Step outside your comfort zone

The only thing required for someone to participate, is wanting to give something a go that they might not normally get an opportunity to do, and so, allow themselves to have a go at an unique experience, in a unique setting … and ultimately, the opportunity to ‘maybe’ surprise themselves with what they achieve whilst having a bit of fun and a laugh.

On another level, some might find it a little uncomfortable having a life-model before the class.

This is also a unique setting where the human body is celebrated and appreciated in a non-sexual arena. The models are all professional, comfortable with their bodies, and are of various shapes and sizes.

I have a strong belief this too provides a healthy attitude to body-image, challenging media perceptions of nudity and its sexualisation. Its a beautiful opportunity for students to respectfully observe and ‘celebrate' the form of the body in the class whilst interpreting to paper what they see.

At its very core, I run the classes because I don’t believe in the boxing in of people who ‘are' or 'are not' creative. Creativity is a fundamental part of everyday for everyone – we are born with it, it just needs to be nurtured.

All art materials are supplied as well as lighting and specially selected music to set the atmosphere and complete the fully immersive, multi-sensory experience.

Hope this gives you a bit more insight into the Charcoal and Champagne sessions.

Please feel free to read through some of the testimonials to get more of an idea about what people get out of the sessions, and get in touch if you require any further information.

"All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. ” -Pablo Picasso